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This is a timeline of Portuguese history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Portugal and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Portugal .
Explore the timline of Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese Empire was established from the 15th century and eventually stretched from the Americas to Japan. Very often a string of coastal trading centres with defensive fortifications, there were...
- Mark Cartwright
- Publishing Director
Timeline of Portuguese history; Historic villages of Portugal; Cities: Braga history and timeline; Coimbra history and timeline; Funchal (Madeira) history and timeline; Lisbon history and timeline; Porto history and timeline; Setúbal history and timeline; Notes
- The Key Colonies
- The North Atlantic Islands
- West Africa & Slavery
- East Africa
- India & Spices
- The Far East
- Brazil
- Southern Africa
- Decline, Decolonization & Legacy
The most important colonies in the Portuguese Empire were: 1. Madeira (founded 1420) 2. Azores (1439) 3. Cape Verde (1462) 4. São Tomé and Principe (1486) 5. Portuguese Cochin(1503) 6. Portuguese Mozambique (1506) 7. Portuguese Goa(1510) 8. Portuguese Malacca(1511) 9. Portuguese Hormuz (1515) 10. Portuguese Colombo (1518) 11. Portuguese Brazil(1532...
The Portuguese were intrepid mariners and so it is entirely appropriate that their first colonies should be relatively remote islands. Searching for new resources and land which might solve Portugal’s deficit in wheat requirements, mariners sailed towards the unknown mid-Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese navigators were able to mount these expeditions...
The Portuguese, keen to access the West African gold and salt trade, set up several fortified trading settlements along the southern coast (modern Ghana) such as at Elmina in 1482. However, tropical diseases, a lack of manpower, and a reluctance by local rulers to allow male slaves to be exported meant that, at least initially, the profits were lim...
When in 1498 the explorer Vasco da Gama(c. 1469-1524) sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean, suddenly the Portuguese gained access to a whole new trade network involving Africans, Indians, and Arabs. This had been going on for centuries, but when the Portuguese arrived commerce became violent. Using superior ships and cannon...
One of Vasco da Gama’s prime objectives was to find a maritime route to Asia so that Portugal could gain direct access to the lucrative spice trade. Spices like pepper, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon fetched high prices in markets from England to China. When he reached India’s Malabar Coast, the mariner did indeed find a wealth of trade going...
Another Portuguese strategy to control trade was to find the source of the precious spices. Many spices came from one small island group in Indonesia, the Spice Islands (the Maluku Islands or the Moluccas). Most of the spices from these islands were shipped to Malacca (Melaka) on the southwest coast of the Malay peninsula which controlled the Malay...
Brazil was 'discovered' by the Portuguese in 1500, and it would become the most important of all their colonies. Brazil was rich in natural resources such as hardwoods, diamonds, and gold (from the Minas Gerais region). Captaincies were handed out, and São Vicente became the first Portuguese settlement in 1532. The first governor of Brazil was appo...
The Angola region was colonised by the Portuguese from 1571, and it became the first European territorial colony in Africa (as opposed to a mere city-stateor coastal settlement). The Kingdom of Ndongo (formed c. 1500) collapsed, but not before it had been exploited as an ally against Kongo to the north. The Europeans had the advantage of gunpowder ...
Besides an often ever-present threat from local rulers, the Portuguese faced fierce competition from other European maritime powers who soon began to eye enviously their empire. This was especially so given the lack of upkeep of Portuguese forts and the general isolation of individual coastal cities, which had no supporting local population to come...
- Mark Cartwright
900 BCE - 2024. History of Portugal. The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BCE lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provinces of Lusitania in the south and Gallaecia in the north.
Jul 28, 2021 · During the Age of Exploration, Portugal explored the North Atlantic islands, the coast of West Africa, the east and west coasts of southern Africa, the west coast of India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the southern coast of China. Major Portuguese colonies included Madeira, Cochin, Goa, Malacca, Brazil, Mozambique, and Angola.
This comprehensive timeline delves into the rich tapestry of Portuguese life, unearthing the architectural wonders, influential personalities, cultural phenomena, and modern developments that have defined Portugal’s journey through the centuries. Key Takeaways
